Local teachers energize education at free workshop

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The Daily Ardmoreite

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Posted Mar. 26, 2013 at 8:57 AM
Updated Mar 26, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Posted Mar. 26, 2013 at 8:57 AM
Updated Mar 26, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Ardmore teachers fueled up on free supplies recently while attending energy ed­ucation workshops hosted by the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board. The workshops will help them energize their students’ knowledge about the oil and natural gas industry.

“We brought teachers and petroleum industry professionals together to write these curricula be­cause wanted to make sure we were providing Okla­homa students with in­depth information that is not provided in any other textbooks, “ said OERB Education Director Carla Schaeperkoetter.

The workshop offered educators the opportunity to enhance their under­standing of the petro­leum industry and receive training to teach OERB’s hands-on curricula in their classroom. The OERB pro­vides a Little Bits program for kindergarten through second grades, Fossils to Fuel program for elemen­tary students, a Petro Ac­tive program for middle schools students and CORE Energy, a novel en­ergy education curriculum for students in grades nine through 12.

After each class com­pletes the curriculum, students receive a free field trip from the OERB to various museums with exciting energy exhibits. The kit of materials, train­ing and teacher’s guide are all provided free of charge. Teachers also receive a sub­stitute reimbursement.

“It’s fun, interactive and can teach the children a lot,” said Keela Mullen­nex, Will Rogers Elemen­tary kindergarten teacher. “I think that it will help them understand why it is important to stay away from well sites and learn about products they use every day that are made from oil.” Also attending were Will Rogers teachers Debra Parsons and Jennifer Gil­laspy, Take Two Academy teacher Connie Butcher and Charles Evans teacher Jerilyn Pettitt.

“I am excited to take it back to my classroom,” said Pettitt, teacher at Charles Evans Elementary.